SHILLONG, MAY 8: A delegation of the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) and Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on Tuesday termed an RTI reply, which indicated that 148 out of 342 families are “illegal settlers” at Them Iew Mawlong, as untrue.
The Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) in its reply to information sought by the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) under RTI Act, 2005 had stated that there are only 194 families, who are employees of the SMB and other government offices.
Speaking to reporters after attending a meeting convened by the state government on the issue of relocation of 342 families from Them Iew Mawlong, DSGMC general secretary Jagdeep Singh said there is no truth in the RTI reply of the SMB.
“That is not the truth. It is not correct. It was already surveyed in 2007 whereby HPC and government had agreed about the number of families residing there,” he said.
HPC secretary Gurjit Singh said that the colony at Them Iew Mawlong is not only about government employees but it is about people, who have been staying there for the past 200 years.
“We came here today to ensure that settlement should be for 342 families,” he added.
His statement came after the HYC had demanded immediate eviction of illegal settlers from the area. In view of this, the state government has directed the urban affairs and SMB to clarify on the matter after verifying the RTI reply.
Jagdeep Singh informed that the meeting held with the government today was a very fruitful one adding that the delegation are hopeful that the matter will be resolved in the next meeting to be held in the first week of June.
“We had discussion on various aspects in continuation to our last meeting. In short I would say it is a fruitful meeting and there is not anything concluded but yes, we have fixed another meeting that is on the first week of June, where we are hopeful to reach some conclusions,” he said.
Asked on the demand to increase the individual plot sizes as requested by the residents of the Sweepers’ Colony, the DSGMC general secretary said, “That demand is still there. We had discussion on that topic but nothing is finalised yet but yes there is progress, I mean the final will be decided in the next meeting in the first week of June.”
He said there are certain issues which were discussed during the meeting today and the delegation had requested time for discussing the same with the residents of the area.
“We will go back and we will discuss with our people then we will see what best can be done as we also want an amicable solution so hopefully we will reach to some conclusion,” Jagdeep stated.
Earlier, the HPC had also requested for slight modification of the blueprint prepared by the state government.
As per the blueprint, the state government has proposed relocation of 342 families from Them Iew Mawlong to the existing land of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB).
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